What's the smallest mule deer buck you would shoot?

[coloyooper]

milk stains on its lips

 

[Jskmtd]

The 180" mark is where bucks get looking good to me. I have passed several 180"+ bucks just because I didn't like something about the rack. I don't harvest a deer all that often but when I do its a good buck. I personally would rather let a young buck grow up than just shoot one to say I did. I love deer meat and having kids that hunt, my freezer is usually full of deer meat because they aren't as selective as there dad, yet.

 

[david2duck]

There are a ton of factors that you have to account for when trying to age deer. Lots of good material out there to read or look. As stated above the best way is to look at as many mule deer as possible. Good luck and have fun. Mule deer are so fun to hunt.

 

[downthepipe]

Opening day I’m looking for a four point. By the end of the season, I just want to pull the trigger and put meat in the freezer. I don’t complain about there not being big deer around and have no problem killing a forky. I also hunt with my kids now so they will be doing the forky killing.

 

[Tick]

First mule buck I shot was an archery spike. Now, I haven't filled my last two tags while passing 130-150 inch bucks. I am good with that and still had great trips.

Congratulations to anyone that takes a legal animal that makes them happy.

 

[EJMK]

For me, when archery hunting spot and stalk, any buck is a good buck when you can get into bow range.

 

[b-Rant]

I’ll put a stalk on anything over 160” for fun and decide if a chance is given but generally like to shoot something over 175” for sure unless he’s crazy unique in some way. I usually don’t have a problem folding a tag if I haven’t found a buck I truly want, each to their own though right.

 

[Kevinv]

I always try for a mature deer, but if I have limited days to hunt and my freezers low I'm not going to be picky.

 

[nagibson1]

I don't have trouble finding mature bucks in the place I hunt. So I wouldn't shoot something smaller than a 4 x 4 unless I was with one of my kids and they were hunting, or it was very late in the trip and we hadn't taken an animal.

 

[notchfir3]

I shot a small buck this year on the last evening of my hunt. Why? Because to me anything is a trophy. Most people say that hunting has become nothing but focussed on trophy animals. With posts like this, its hard to deny that. Since when is hunting all about the size? Sure, I too would shoot the biggest of any that were standing together. But I also shoot small ones for the meat. But I guess I'm not a very moral hunter if I do that huh? After all, there is absolutely no challenge in shooting anything that doesn't have trouble lifting its head because of all the growth on it.

 

[Reburn]

I shot a small buck this year on the last evening of my hunt. Why? Because to me anything is a trophy. Most people say that hunting has become nothing but focussed on trophy animals. With posts like this, its hard to deny that. Since when is hunting all about the size? Sure, I too would shoot the biggest of any that were standing together. But I also shoot small ones for the meat. But I guess I'm not a very moral hunter if I do that huh? After all, there is absolutely no challenge in shooting anything that doesn't have trouble lifting its head because of all the growth on it.

Shooting big deer normally equates to harvesting mature deer. With more hunters focused on only harvesting mature deer it allows smaller immature deer to grow walk a couple more years to their potential. This allows the herds in the area to usually have a better buck to doe ratio and improves conception and fawn rates. This leads to more deer. Your conclusions you have drawn could be looked at as incorrect. I draw the conclusion that more hunters are conservation and management oriented then harvest oriented. Nobody here will say that hunting for food is a bad thing either. You seem like your mad about it too.